Mary, a virgin, was living in Galilee of Nazareth and was engaged to be married to Joseph, a Jewish carpenter. An angel visited her and explained to her that she would conceive a son by the power of the Holy Spirit. She would carry and give birth to this child and she would name him Jesus.

At first Mary was afraid and troubled by the angel's words. Being a virgin, Mary questioned the angel, "How will this be?" The angel explained that the child would be God's own Son and, therefore, "nothing is impossible with God." Humbled and in awe, Mary believed the angel of the Lord and rejoiced in God her Savior.

Surely Mary reflected with wonder on the words found in Isaiah 7:14 foretelling this event, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (NIV)

The Birth of Jesus:

While Mary was still engaged to Joseph, she miraculously became pregnant through the Holy Spirit, as foretold to her by the angel. When Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, he had every right to feel disgraced. He knew the child was not his own, and Mary's apparent unfaithfulness carried a grave social stigma. Joseph not only had the right to divorce Mary, under Jewish law she could be put to death by stoning.

Although Joseph's initial reaction was to break the engagement, the appropriate thing for a righteous man to do, he treated Mary with extreme kindness. He did not want to cause her further shame, so he decided to act quietly. But God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to verify Mary's story and reassure him that his marriage to her was God's will. The angel explained that the child within Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that his name would be Jesus and that he was the Messiah, God with us.

When Joseph woke from his dream, he willingly obeyed God and took Mary home to be his wife, in spite of the public humiliation he would face. Perhaps this noble quality is one of the reasons God chose him to be the Messiah's earthly father.

Joseph too must have wondered in awe as he remembered the words found in Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (NIV)

At that time, Caesar Augustus decreed that a census be taken, and every person in the entire Roman world had to go to his own town to register. Joseph, being of the line of David, was required to go to Bethlehem to register with Mary. While in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Probably due to the census, the inn was too crowded, and Mary gave birth in a crude stable. She wrapped the baby in cloths and placed him in a manger.

The Shepherd's Worship the Savior:

Out in the fields, an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were tending their flocks of sheep by night. The angel announced that the Savior had been born in the town of David. Suddenly a great host of heavenly beings appeared with the angels and began singing praises to God. As the angelic beings departed, the shepherds decided to travel to Bethlehem and see the Christ-child.

There they found Mary, Joseph and the baby, in the stable. After their visit, they began to spread the word about this amazing child and everything the angel had said about him. They went on their way still praising and glorifying God. But Mary kept quiet, treasuring their words and pondering them in her heart. It must have been beyond her ability to grasp, that sleeping in her arms—the tender child she had just borne—was the Savior of the world.

The Magi Bring Gifts:

After Jesus' birth, Herod was king of Judea. At this time wise men (Magi) from the east saw a star, they came in search, knowing the star signified the birth of the king of the Jews. The wise men came to the Jewish rulers in Jerusalem and asked where the Christ was to be born. The rulers explained, "In Bethlehem in Judea," referring to Micah 5:2. Herod secretly met with the Magi and asked them to report back after they had found the child. Herod told the Magi that he too wanted to go and worship the babe. But secretly Herod was plotting to kill the child.

So the wise men continued to follow the star in search of the new born king and found Jesus with his mother in Bethlehem. (Most likely Jesus was already two years of age by this time.) They bowed and worshiped him, offering treasures of gold, incense, and myrrh. When they left, they did not return to Herod. They had been warned in a dream of his plot to destroy the child.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Larry has been the Minister of Music/Worship Pastor at Morris Memorial United Methodist Church in Charleston, West Virginia for thirty-one years. Larry and his wife Kathy have three children: Michelle, Candice and Jonathan and six grandchildren. Larry and Kathy have two great Christian sons-in-law, Craig, who is married to Michelle, and Ryan, who is married to Candice. His son Jonathan is married to their beautiful Christian daughter-in law, Lauren. Larry sang with his wife Kathy in a Gospel group called New Vision for twenty-two years for which his brother Rick played the bass. Prior to New Vision, Larry sang tenor with the Young Inspirations for about six years. Nine years ago, Larry was the founding member of the inspirational “doo wop” gospel group Brothers in the Cross. He has written most of the songs on their CDs and gives God all the credit

Thursday, November 22, 2012

For God's people, Thanksgiving is far more than a special day on the calendar. The Bible urges us to live a life of thanksgiving each day. Being thankful to God for all of His blessings is truly a mark of the Christian. So let us give you four biblical ways to express your thanksgiving to the Lord at this wonderful season of the year. We will build on Psalm 100, a song of praise to God as our Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer.

There are at least four ways that Psalm 100 instructs us to praise and worship God. Some may be a little scary to those who are not used to joyously expressing praise, but we encourage you not to be afraid!

1. Don't Be Afraid to Shout Praise to the Lord.
The Bible says, "Make a joyful shout to the LORD" (Ps. 100:1). In the Bible, shouting is associated with great achievement or joy. Joshua told Israel to march around Jericho for six days and on the seventh day to lift a great shout. When they did, the walls fell down (Josh. 6).

When you are thanking and praising God, don't be afraid to be a little loud. God loves to hear our praises, and it will also make you biblical!

2. Don't Be Afraid to Serve the Lord with Gladness.
"Serve the LORD with gladness" (Ps. 100:2). Gladness means mirth, gaiety and happiness. No service to the Lord, whether great or small, should be done grudgingly.

Sincere and true delight in service to God should accompany our words and deeds of worship. When you are serving the Lord, don't be afraid to do it with a glad heart—and don't be afraid to smile!

3. Don't Be Afraid to Come into the Lord's Presence.
"Come before His presence with singing" (Ps. 100:2). God calls us to come into His presence privately each day and together in corporate worship. "Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice" (Ps. 55:17).

It was said of the fledgling New Testament church that they met daily in the temple for teaching from the Word, fellowship, worship and praise. Little wonder that Hebrews 10:25 begs us not to fail to regularly assemble with other believers in thanksgiving, hearing the Word and worship.

4. Don't Be Afraid to Get to Know the Lord.
The rest of Psalm 100:3 says, "Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture" (emphasis added). The psalmist calls the people to recognize and "know" God's words, works and ways.

He wants us to know that He is Jehovah God and we are not, that He is the Creator and we are His creatures and that we are His sheep and He is our Shepherd. The heart-longing of every godly person is to get to know God more intimately.

Let's make it our determination to praise and worship God this holiday season!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

CORE is one of 58 federally designated agencies in the United States known as a not-for-profit organ procurement organization (OPO). An innovative, responsive OPO, CORE plays a pivotal role between potential donors and patients awaiting transplantation. In addition to talking with families about the opportunity to donate, CORE coordinates the surgical recovery of organs, tissue and corneas, as well as the computerized matching of donated organs and placement of corneas.

Founded in 1977 as the Transplant Organ Procurement Foundation of Western Pennsylvania and later known as the Pittsburgh Transplant Foundation, the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) changed to its existing name in 1992 to reflect its expanding role in the procurement field. In 1990, CORE established the first donor referral position to accept the growing number of referrals from hospitals. Additionally, CORE created in 1995 the first donor card database in Pennsylvania. In 1996, the organization added tissue recovery and eye banking services to its organ recovery component. It enhanced its line of services by opening an internal laboratory in 1997, where CORE performs the necessary tests to help determine if the organs, tissue and corneas are healthy for transplantation. Since its inception more than 30 years ago, CORE has helped to provide more than 300,000 organs, tissue and corneas for transplantation. The chances for renewed health provided through CORE would not be possible without those who have said "yes" to donation.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Jim is a native of Charleston’s West Side and first became interested in music in the elementary school band. He continued as a trumpet player throughout junior and senior high school. Returning to his love for music, he joined the Chancel Choir at Bream Memorial Presbyterian Church in 1981. Jim embraced choral music at Bream and later at Morris Memorial United Methodist as a member of the Chancel Choir and Praise Band. He has been married to his wife Ann for twenty-two years. Jim is retired and enjoys hunting and fishing in his spare time.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Ron was lead singer for R&B group, The Montereys, with several records on the Dominion label in the ‘60s. Married to wife Kay and they have one daughter Temple. Temple and son-in-law Russ have Ron & Kay’s 3 beautiful grandchildren. Ron and his wife Kay are members of the Chancel Choir at Morris Memorial United Methodist Church in Charleston, WV and he is currently recording with D & R Studios as a member of the Brothers In the Cross. God has gifted Ron with two songs the Brothers recorded, “”White Church” and “What Will You do”.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Born and raised in the Charleston area, Rick has been working with sound equipment for over 20 years now. He and his wife, Debby are Realtors with Great Expectations Realty and in his spare time, he enjoys recording various groups in his basement recording studio. Along with recording, he loves to spend time with his step daughter Danielle and the newest addition to the family, their chocolate lab Elly Mae.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Alan is the newest member of the group having joined the "Brothers" in 2005. He sings baritone with the group and also plays numerous instruments on our recording sessions. Before joining the Brothers , Alan sang and played bass guitar with the gospel group "Crosswalk". He has played drums for numerous groups over the years and is currently playing with "the Exiles".Alan and his wife Angela live in Charleston and have a one son Christopher (wife Kelly) who shares his dads love of music and plays guitar in a contemporary Christian group.

What Alan enjoys most about being part of the Brothers is writing, arranging and recording all original music.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

The Brothers in the Cross will be worshiping at the Morris Memorial United Methodist Church, Charleston, WV on the morning of August 12th. Come out and hear their unique blend of Gosple Doo Wop at the 8:30 service and the 11:00 AM service!